In combustion chambers having a wide load range, the problem exists of how the combustion can be operated at a high efficiency with a low pollutants emission. Here, although it is mostly the NOx emissions which are to the fore, it has in the meantime become apparent that the UHC (=unsaturated hydrocarbons) and the CO emissions will also have to be greatly minimized in the future. Especially when it is a matter of using liquid and/or gaseous fuels, it is very quickly found that the design for one type of fuel, for example for oil, and directed toward the minimization of a pollutant emission, for example the NOx emissions, cannot be satisfactorily transferred to other operational types and other pollutant emissions. In multi-stage combustion chambers it is attempted to run the second stage with a lean mixture. However, this is only possible if this second stage always has a constant temperature at the inlet, so that sufficient burn-up in the second stage can also be achieved at a low fuel quantity, i.e. the mixing in the first stage ought to be kept largely constant, which is not possible, for example, with the known diffusion burners. As far as can be gathered, the prior art does not include such a combustion chamber.